IAN BELL
Recordings:
- Shallow Water - (Free Range 2006)
- Signor Farini & Other Adventures - (Free Range 2000)
- Up Our Way - (Sound Reconstructions 1998)
- The Road Home - (Sound Reconstructions 1997)
- Free Range - (Free Range 1996)
- Brightest & Best - (Sound Reconstructions 1995)
- Singing In A Strange Land - (Joseph Schneider Haus 1993)
- The Farmer Feeds Us All - (Sound Reconstructions 1993)
- A Grand Musical Entertainment - (Sound Reconstructions 1990)
- Scatter The Ashes (with Muddy York) - (CBC/Boot Records 1984)
As a freelance broadcaster I have written and presented features for CBC Radio:
- This Morning
- Tapestry
- Basic Black
- Crosswords
- Radio Noon
I have appeared as a guest on:
- Morningside with Peter Gzowski (four appearances)
- Vicki Gabereau
- Radio Noon
- Later The Same Day
- Metro Morning
- Fresh Air
- The Vinyl Café
- I also performed historical music for and occasionally appeared in the television series "The Road To Avonlea"
Festivals I have played at either as a solo or with Muddy York or The Dawnbreakers
- "Roots of American Music" Festival, Lincoln Centre, New York City
- Viljandi Folk Festival, Estonia
- Mariposa Folk Festival
- Edmonton Folk Festival
- Winnipeg Folk Festival
- Summerfolk, Owen Sound
- Festival Of Friends
- Home County Folk Festival
- Le Carrefour Mondiale de L'Accordeon, Montmagny
- Folklife Pavillion Expo 86, Vancouver
- Folk Festival, Upper Canada Village
- Songs of Sail, Pentanguishene
- WOMAD, Toronto
- Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival
Folk Clubs I have played at include:
- The Flying Cloud, Toronto
- The Vital Spark, Oshawa
- The Old Sod, Ottawa
- Rasputin's, Ottawa
- Ragged But Right, Toronto
- Guelph Folk Club
- Rocky Mountain, Calgary
- Stonecroft Folk, Ingersoll
I have also presented concerts and special programs at many museums and historic sites including:
- Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
- Upper Canada Village, Morrisburg
- Glenbow Museum, Calgary
- Fort York, Toronto
- Black Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto
- Doon Heritage Crossroads, Kitchener
- Fort Niagara, Lewiston, NY
- Fort George, Niagara-On-The-Lake
- Marine Museum, Toronto
- Ottawa Folklore Centre, Ottawa
In 1993 I was Folk Artist In Residence at the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum in Kitchener. During this year I researched and presented musical traditions of Waterloo County, focusing on the shape-note singing traditions of the area. My work there included the production of a recording and the presentation of a concert of this music as well as the creation of an exhibit on the subject.
In museum and historic site settings I can present thematic concerts of historical music on period instruments. This can be done in costume if appropriate. Topics include:
- Music of Early Ontario/Early Canada
- Songs of The Great Lakes
- Topers and Teetotalers (Songs of Temperance and Tippling)
- A Soldier's/Sailor's Life
- A Garland of Love (and Lust) - Valentines Day Show
- Robert Burns In The New World
- The Celtic Connection In Early Ontario
Special Duo Concerts with Other Artists
"I'm Not Making Any Of This Up!" - Ian Bell and James Gordon
In this special concert, Ian is joined by James Gordon. James is well known for his many years with the group Tamarack and for his songwriting contributions to CBC's "Basic Black" and "Ontario Morning" programs. Between them, these two have collected or written songs about some of the strangest occurrences and personalities to have come out of Ontario during the last 6,000 or so years, and they both swear up and down that they're all true. This is a unique opportunity to see two of Canada's best storytellers and quirkiest songwriters pass the ball back and forth for an evening. During the course of the show they also use a small mountain of instruments to accompany each other - guitars, accordions, mandolins, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, whistle and on really special nights - an antique nose flute. This is a really fun show. Both artists are known for their work on CBC Radio.
"A Ramble Through Persephone Township" - Ian Bell and Dan Needles
Dan Needles is a writer for Harrowsmith Magazine, but is best known as the author of the phenomenally popular "Wingfield Farm" plays, which have been performed across Canada by actor Rod Beattie. Dan is also a spectacular raconteur himself. In this concert, he and Ian trade stories and songs dealing with life in rural Ontario. Many of Dan's hilarious monologues focus on the landscape and characters he grew up with as well as his life as a part time farmer today. "Wingfield" fans will recognize the origins of parts of the plays in many of these tales. This is like an entertaining late night jaw-wag around a southern Ontario kitchen table. A really special evening for anyone, this show is particularly resonant in rural areas.